What You Missed || November 13, 2006

We caught three great local sets this weekend; one of those, The Strange Boys' Friday night set at the Double Wide, we'll choose not to elaborate on since our pal Jesse Hughey admitted that he was writing the show up for some other rag. Not gonna cockblock ya, pal, but we will quickly note a coupl'a things: Chief Death Rage, your drummer might be the worst since Meg White (and lacking in the boobs and spontaneity that make her diminished prowess worthwhile). The Denton trio's sludge metal seems far beyond "competent" in terms of bass and guitar...but it would benefit from a drummer who actually uses a bass drum. Just throwin' that out there. Luckily, The Strange Boys are getting better by the week--time in the studio must've rubbed 'em the right way, as lead singer Ryan Sambol has begun to...no way, really?...sing.

Saturday's Sons of Hermann Hall show was, as expected, the week's highlight. It's the perfect room in Dallas for country-minded performers...something about the wooden walls and layout make the sound shine, and Bosque Brown took advantage with one of its most solid sets in recent memory. No sound trouble, no weakness in Mara Lee Miller's singular voice and perfect band harmonies make for a very happy Dd crew. Houston native Jolie Holland put on one helluva headlining set afterward, charming the crowd with a voice as sultry as it is boastful and creating a rhythmic bond with her jazz-minded drummer the likes of which I've honestly never heard before. Their sense of undulating tempo made her lengthy compositions that much more intriguing, and sadly, she's not touring for a while, so the many Dallasites who missed out on this gig will have to wait a while for her next stop through town.

The local gig trifecta was rounded out by Red Monroe at the Gypsy Tea Room on Sunday night. Their set's two new songs were as cursed with classic rock cheese as they were blessed with surprising builds to all-out rock moments rooted in the band's Pink Floyd love affair, and as those were bundled with the group's crowd-killing output on their self-titled EP, the set was certainly killer. Most of us split after RM's set, and good thing--headliners Be Your Own Pet stopped after barely 30 minutes when lead singer Jemina Pearl flipped out, threw her microphone and dashed backstage. The rest of the band, after realizing she wasn't coming back, said something along the lines of "Denton's better, anyways" and called the show off. (The one Dd staffer who remained tried to get his nipple signed by Jemina after the set...bad move, dude. His insurance plan doesn't cover ripped nips.)

Oh, you wanted multimedia, did you? Greedy. Below is "Israel" by Bosque Brown from the band's Saturday gig. -SM